Shohei Ohtani hit his National League-leading 39th home run, and Clayton Kershaw threw six scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Miguel Rojas and Gavin Lux each had three hits as the Dodgers, who lead the NL West, won for the seventh time in their last 10 games.
“Every time I play defense behind (Kershaw), you know you’re playing defense behind a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Lux said.
Lars Nootbaar hit a pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning for the Cardinals, who have lost six of their last seven games.
Ohtani hit a home run on the first pitch from Sonny Gray in the fifth inning to break the scoreless tie. Rojas added a single later in the inning to drive in another run.
Kershaw (2-2) allowed four hits and struck out two batters. The three-time Cy Young Award winner threw 70 pitches in his fifth start since having shoulder surgery in November. It was the longest outing of the year for Kershaw, who returned to play on July 25.
“I got a lot of groundballs that kept the pitch count down,” Kershaw said. “It gave us what we needed today.”
Kershaw showed some of his old form and said he feels better now than he has in a long time.
“I don’t even remember what it felt like to not have my shoulder hurt,” Kershaw said. “It’s nice to wake up and everything feels good. It’s a good feeling.”
This was his first scoreless start since September 23, 2023, when he pitched five shutout innings against the Giants.
“He stepped up and did what he always seems to do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He commanded the fastball on both sides of the plate.”
Michael Kopech earned his 11th save and second with the Dodgers by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. He got Nolan Arenado to hit into a game-ending double play.
The Dodgers won two of three games in the series, finishing a 4-3 road trip. They split four games with NL Central-leading Milwaukee.
